Automatic blank feeding and gumming machine.



I. D. REIFSNYDER. W. A. WEIGHTIVIAN & E. G. RIDER.

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING AND GUMNIING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. IH, I9I7.

www@

IIIIIIIL'IIII ETI nu@ mfom Wel@ J. D. REIFSNYDER. W. A. WEIGHTMANL E. G. RIDER.

AUTOMATLC BLANK FEEDING AND GUMIVHNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-18,1917. l

Patented Dot. 29, 1918.

J. D. REIFSNYDER. W. A. VVEIGHTMAN 6L E. G. RIDR.

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING AND GUMMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1911. w). Patented .0015. 29, 1918.

6 SHEETS-'SHEEI 3.

mll-l* E5 @$9113 @Mito/anew,

Patented Oct. 99, IIIIS'.

I. D. REIFSNYDIER, W. A. WEIGHTIVIAN 6I E. G. RIDER. AUTOMATIC BLANK IEE-DING AND GuIv'IIvIING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I8. I9I7. Lg.

A WHMQ/ nvm/Item,

Irre 65 @3313 w/n bte/5149.134., I l

I. I I I I I. D. REIFSNYDER. W. l. VVEIGHIIVIAN (IL E. G. RIDER.

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING AND GUIVIIVIING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I8. |917.

Patented Det. 29, 1918..

I IIIIN IIII I. D. REIFSIIIYDER, W. A. WEIGHTIVIAN & E. G. RIDR.

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING AND GUMIVIING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I8, l9|7.

LQDQAD.

NNN

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER, OF WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY, AND WILLIAM A. WEIGHTMAN AND ERNEST G. RIDER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS T0 STORES & SMITH COMPANY, OF SUMMERDA'LE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- PORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING AND GUMMING MACHINE.

Bpeoication of Letters Patent.

`rat-enten ocaso, raie.

Original application tiled June 15, 1917, Serial No. 174,921. 'Divided vand this application iled December 18,

1917. serial no. 207,684.

Ta all whom it may concern.'

Be it `known that wc, JAMES D. REIFsNY- pnn, WILLIAM A. WEIGHTMAN, and ERNEST G. Rinne, citizens of the United States, residing' at Wleehawken, county of Hudson, State of New Jersey; Logan, Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, respectively, have invented new and' useful Improvements in Automatic Blank Feeding and Gumming Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for gumming wrapper or covering blanks, and more particularlyto mechanism for automatically selecting, feeding, gumming and transporting wrapper blanks to mechanisms or instrumentalities for applying the gummed blank to boxes or packages.

The present application is a division of our co-pending application, Ser. No. 174,921

filed June 15, 1917. One of lthe objects of this invention is to provide a wrapper selecting, feeding, gumming and transporting unitthat may be attached to or associated with any box covering or wrapping machine to the end that selected and properly gummed blanks may be fed and delivered to other mechanisms, such as those for applying the blanks to the boxes or packages.

A further object of the invention is th provision of a machine of the character described embodying in its construction a reciprocating carriage having 'blank gripping devices, said reciprocating' carriage being operatively associated with and adapted to remove blanks from gripping devices of rotary glue applying mechanism and feeding such blanks away from the glue applying mechanism and delivering the same t0 a selected machine such as a box covering or wrapping machine.

Another object of the invention isto proi vide an automatic blank feeding, gumming and transporting means that may be properly adjusted to permit. the feeding, gumming and transporting of wrapper blanks of different sizes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of parts that will permit of ready access and adjustment, and this is especially true of the mechanism for applyin the coatin'g of adhesive to the wrapper b anks, the adhesive applying rollers being so mounted that 4they may be adjusted to vary the thickyness of the adhesive coating applied to the blanks and may also be moved to a positiont,

where the rollers and` glue tank may be easily and quickly removed for cleaning or of a similar nature in view, our invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in -and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing the same in associated relation with a box-covering machine, the latter being merely conventionally illustrated in dotted outline, as it forms no part of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is aview partly in elevation and partly in vertical section taken longitudinally through the machine.

Fig. 4 is a view partly in 'elevation and partly in vertical section taken transversely through the wrapper blank adhesive applying means.

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view partly in section of a portion of the glue applying mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view partly in section showing the operating mechanism for reciprocating the wrapper'transporting carriage and showing lalso a portion of the mechanism for adjusting the position of the adhesive applying means.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a portion of the wrapper blank feeding means shown in association with the adhesive applying rollers and the coperating blank-supporting platen. n

Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section of a portion of the blank-supporting platen and one of the grippers of the wrapper transporting means, the view illustrating the position of the gripper in the act of takin the adhesively coated wrapper from the p aten.

Fig. 9 is a somewhat similar view showing one of the grippers in the act of transporting the adhesively coated wrapper to the box or package wrapping instrumentalities.

Fig. 1() is a transverse sectional v1ew showing a portion of the gripper .in the actof gripping the wrapper blank as it passes over the first one of the two glue-applying rollers.

According to the plan of operation of the machinel constituting this particular inven- 'tion the wrapper blanks are arranged in pack form upon a suitable support forming a part of the machine. The wrapper blanks which are to be adhesively coated on one face are fed forward singly from the bottom of the ack over the first one of a air of glue-app ying rollers having spaced g lueapplyin'g faces, the glue-applying faces of one roller being opposite the spaces between the faces of the other -roller so that the wrapper-blanks when drawn over the two glue-applying rollers will have a coatlng of adhesive applied over substantially the en-.

tire area of one face thereof. rotary blank supporting platen is cooperatively associated with the two glue-applying-rollers, the platen having a gripper or grippers which operate to grasp the forward en d of the wrapper blanks as they are successively fed to the rollers, the gripping actlon taklng place just after the forward edge of each wrapper blank has passed over the first one of the two glue-applying rollers, the wrapper blanks receiving the coating of adhes1ve `during rotation of the blank supporting l .end that an entirely automatic machine iS` platen. n

During rotation of the platen w1th the adhesively coated wrapper blank supported thereon, the grippers of the wrapper transporting device are brought into cooperative provided for feeding the wrapper blanks,

applying adhesive to a face thereof, and

transporting the wrapper blanks in proper position with relation to other mechanism, such as box covering or wrapping instrumentalities. A

The blank feeding, gumming and transportingv mechanism is supported upon a supplemental main frame 1, which, in the instance shown,.may be arranged'to one side of'and attached in any suitable way to the machine W, here shown conventionally in dotted lines. This supplemental main frame is provided with a pair of spaced aparttop lates or rails 1b each having therethrough ongitudinal slots 1 as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. Upon the said top plates or rails 1b of the supplemental main frame is mounted a longitudinally adjustable carrier frame 1d, said carrier frame being adjustable toward and from the wrapper ap-` plying instrumentalities in order to accommodate blanks of different sizes. Adjustment of the frame is eHected by means of screws 14 working in threaded nuts 14a carried by the frame 1", said screws 14 each having a beveled gearr 15 at one end, said beveled gears being in mesh with similar beveled gears 16 carried by' a shaft 17, the latter being provided at one end with a crank handle 18 by means of which the shaft 17 may be rotated in either direction in order to transmit motion to the screws 14 and thus adjust the carrier frame 1d toward and fromv the wrapper applying instrumentalities. When the frame has been brought `to proper adjusted position, it may be securely held in such position by means of the screw bolts 19 which ass through the slots 1c in the top rails 1"- o the supplemental main frame, all

'as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. p Journaled for rotation in suitable bearings 20, -in the upper part of the carrier frame 1l is a shaft 21, upon which is mounted a blank-supporting platen having the form of a segmental drum 22, which is driven through bevel gears 23, and 24, the latter being mounted upon a vertical shaft 25, having a bevel gear 26 aty its lower end all as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The bevel gear 26, is driven by a similar gear 27, mounted upon the transverse shaft 28, journaled in suitable bearings 29, carried by the' carrier frame 1d and said transverse shaft carrier frame 1d being `adjusted toward and from the wrapper applying mechanism without interfering with the drive gear coni nctions between the transverse shaft 28, and

the longitudinal shaft 32, the gear 31 isy one end of shaft 32 is journaled in a bear-V ing 36, formed as a part of the carrierv frame 1d.

f Supported for vertical adjustmentA upon .l

lsplined on said shaft 32, as'more clearly '1 25Vf'lr`` -shown in Flg. 1where it will be see'n'tha'i:r`

tasas the carrier frame 1A is an auxiliary frame,

the outline of which will be clearly seen in y 3,9, Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5. Adjustment is efected by means of screw rods 40, which pass through threaded nuts 41, each carrying a bevel gear 42, with which mesh other bevel gears 43, carried by a transverse shaft 44, the latter being geared to an operating shaft 45, having a crank handle 46 at one end, all as more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. By manipulating the crank handle 46, it will be apparent that the auxiliary frame may be raised and lowered bodily toward and from the blank-supporting platen 22, for a pur pose presently to appear.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the .frame part of' the blank feeding, ming and transporting mechanism is made up of three independent frame members, namely the supplemental main frame l, the longitudinally adjustable carrier frame 1d, and the vertically adjustable auxiliary frame made up of the two side plates 37, the said carrier and auxiliary frames being adjustable relatively to one another at right angles and the two said frames being adjustable bodily or as a unit upon the supplemental main frame la. Y

The vertically adjustable auxiliary frame supports the automatic wrapper feeding mechanism and the gumming or adhesive applying mechanism, and these parts will now be described in detail, although we do not wish to be understood as binding ourselves to the particular construction shown, as we are aware that changes or additions may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. j

he wrapper blanks which are usually of the cornered type are supported in pack form upon an upwardly inclined table A47, and upon tapes 47a, the table being mounted to reciprocate between guides 48, Fig. 3, toward and from a front stop 49. In advance of theupper end of the table 47, there is mounted an oscillating suction picker roll 50, which operates through a suction aperture or apertures to separate the bottom blank from the pack during each forward reciprocation of the table, the separated blanks being successively projected between a pairof feed rolls- 51, 52, located justin advance of the suction roll 50, and being guided toward said feed' rolls by means of a linger 53, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 7. The table 47 is reciprocated by means of an Voscillating gear segment 54,Y meshing with a rack 55, upon the underside` ofthe table, said segment being mounted upon an oscillatory shaft 55, which is oscil- 'stripes or spots of adhesive.

fil

lated by means of a strap eccentric 56, mounted upon a shaft 57, journaled in the auxiliary frame. `The shaft 5.7 has a bevel gear 58 at one end, which meshes with a similar gear 59, splined upon a vertical shaft 60,'the latter carrying a bevel gear 61, at lts lower end which meshes with a similar gear 62, splined upon the longitudinal shaft 32, all as more clearly shown in Fig. 1. By reason of the splined connection between the gear 59 and shaft 60, the auxiliary frame .may be raised or'lowered without interfering with the driving connections.

The feed roll 52, is mounted to move away from its companion feed roll 51, at the moment the suction picker roll 50 advances a blank between the rolls and saidroll 52, is then moved up in order'to grip the blank between the two feed rolls whereby to-feed .the blank forward to the gumming mechanism presently to be described. The feed roll 52, is moved 1n the manner described and in timed relation with the reciproca- 'tions of the feed table, by means of a link 63, jointed to an arm 64, secured to the oscillatory shaft 55".

Air is exhausted from the suction roll 50, by means of a mechanically operated pump 651 having a exible tube connection 66, with said roll at any suitable point. The piston 67, of the pump is operated by means of a link 68, jointed to a pivoted lever 69, having a roller at one end thatruns in a cam groove 70, formed in the periphery of a drum 71, mounted upon the transverse shaft 28, all

as more clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 6. Any` suitable form of relief valve may be employed in association with the suction roll 50, to break the suction action in the roll after the latter has operated to separate and initially advance thesheets from the pack, As such valves are old in the art and their operation Well understood, it is'not necessary to illustrate and describe its action further.

The mechanism employed for applying a surface coating of adhesive to the blanks as they are fed forward from the pack, consists in the instance shown of a pair of` spaced parallel glue-applying rollers 72, and 73, each comprising a plurality of spaced apart glue-applying faces, the faces of one of the rollers being located opposite the spaces between the faces of the other roller, in such manner that when a blank is drawn over the two rollers it will receive a coating of glue over substantially the entire face thereof. It will be understood, however, that vthe glue-applying faces may be otherwise arranged so that the blank will receive only Such, .1..r1 ar-l rangement will be so obvious from the disclosure herein. that no further reference or illustration is considered necessary.

The glue-applying rollers 72 and 73 as more clearly shown -in Figs. 3 and 7 are removably journaled at their ends in open bearings 7 4 each bearing being formed upon the end of a pivoted arm 75, there being two.

downwardly by a spring 79 coiled about the lower end thereof and one end of whichspring bears against an apertured lug 80 through which the rod 78 passes, thelug being formed as a part of the auXillary frame. Vertical downward movement of i the rod 78 may be limited by means of a stop screw 81. For as shown in Fig. 7, this rod 78 is connected to one end of the bell crank arm 83, and the downward movement of the latter'is limited by contact with the upper end of this stop screw 81.

One purpose of mounting the glue-applying rollers 72 and. 73 upon the swinging arms-is to render the rolls capable of being moved toward and from the surface of the blank-supporting platen so that the glue applying faces of the rolls will not contact with and thus impart glue to the surface of the platen when no blank is fed vthereto by the blank-feeding means. Mechanism is provided for automatically rocking the arms on their pivot 76 to simultaneously move the two rolls away from each other and away from the surface of the laten when no sheet is fed and this mechanlsm, in the instance shown, consists of -a bell-crank lever pivoted lat 82, the arm 83 of which is linked to the vertically moving rod 78 and the arm' 84 of which carries a solenoid magnet 85. .The core of the solenoid carries a roller 86 adapted throu h the solenoid action on its core, to be broug t into and out of the path of rota tion of a cam 87 mounted upon the shaft 57 as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The roller 86 is normally held out of the path of movement of the cam by means of a' coil spring 88 as shown in Fig. 4. The solenoid isin circuit with the two blank feed rolls 51 and 52 and the arrangement and 0peration of parts are such that if the rolls are allowed to contact with one another when no sheet is fed therebetween the circuit will be completed through the solenoid 85 which will cause its armature core to move the roller 86 into the path of movement of the cam `87 so that the cam acting upon the roller 86 will operate to rock the bell crank lever in such a way as to cause the rod 78 to move upwardly and through its toggle that the glue-applyin faces of the rolls 72 l' and 73 will be proper y positioned to apply a surface coating of glue to a blank supported upon the blank-supporting platen as will presently appear. v l

The glue-applying rolls 72 and 73 receivel a surface coating of glue from a distri'butery roll 89 located therebelow and in such a posltion that both of the rolls 72 and 73 rotate 1n surface contact therewith. The distributer roll l89 receives its lue from a supply roll 90 journaled in slidaly adjustable bearings. 91 carried by the swinging arms 91 and receives its glue from a glue tank 92, as will be understood by reference to patent to H. P. Smith, 1,179,672, dated April 18, 1916, wherein such a mechanical arrangement is shown. The glue tank may be of the steam heated type if desired, as more clearly shown Iin Fig. 3. The tank is removably supported between the two side plates 37 of the auxiliary frame so that it can be readily removed for cleaning purposes. One manner of removably supporting the glue tank is to have it rest at one end upon a cross rod 93 of the auxiliary frame and its other end provided with lugs 94 which rest upon the shaft 82 about which the bell crank lever 84 is pivoted. The slidable bearings in which the distributer roll 90 is mounted may be adjusted so as to increase or decrease the surface contact between the supply roll 90 and the distributer' roll 89. -This adjustment is effected by means of hand operated screw rods 91b each of which has a threaded connection with a part of the adjustable bearings 91. as more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

When it is desired to remove the various rolls of the glue applying mechanism, the auxiliary frame is lowered by the screw mechanism heretofore described whereupon the glue-applying rolls 72 and 73 may be lifted from their open bearings 74 after which the supply roll 90 may be moved outward 'from the distributer roll 89 by means 0f the screw rods 91". This will permit removal of the supply roll from its bearings after which the glue tank 92 may be bodily re moved from its supported position.

The various rolls of the glue-applying mechanism are preferably driven directly from the blank-supporting platen 22 by gearing more clearly shown in Fig. 4, whereroll 89 is provided with a gear '98 adjacent the gear 97 that meshes with a geai` 99 fixed on the shaft of the supply roll 90 by which the latter is driven, all as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. The shaft of the other glue applying roll 72, is provided with a gear 96 intermeshed with a gear 98a on the shaft of the distributer roll 89, and from which the' said glue applying roll derives its motion.

The feed rolls 51 and 52 are driven from a gear 100 mounted upon the oppositeend of the shaft upon which the distributer roll is mounted, said gear 100 meshing with a gear 101 which in turn drives gear 102 on the end of the shaft of the feed roll 51, the feed roll 52 being driven by friotional contact with the roll 51, or if desired, these rolls Inlay be intergeared.

. The blank-supporting platen 22 is preferably provided on its surface with a flexible blanket 103, one end of the blanket being securely held by means of a clamp bar .104 adjacent an edge of the cutaway portion of the platen, as more clearly shown in Figs. p to 10 inclusive, and the other end of the blanket being wound about a tightener roll 105 journaled in the ends of the. platen such.

roll being provided with aratchet- 106 with which a pawl 107 coperates to 4hold the roll 105 against movement when the blanket has.

been drawn' taut about the periphery of the platen. Secured in any suitable manner to the face of the blanket 103 is a raised blanksupporting form 108 as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, which form takes the shape of the Wrapper blank to which the adhesive coating is to be applied. ,providing the raised form the blanks which are supported thereby during the gluing operation are held away from other portions of the surface of the platen not covered by the form, so that no glue can be applied to such other portions of the platen during rotation of the platen when the machine is in operation.

The blank-supporting platen is provided with a plurality of gripper fingers v109 each being longitudinally adjustable upon a shaft 110 extending transversely between the lend plates of the. platen. These gripper fingers are brought 1nto and out of gripping action with. the forward edge of the cutaway portion of the platen by means of a gear segment 112 which meshes with a gear 113 secured to the gripper shaft 110. The gear segment is operated by any suitable means as by a cam groove shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7 to cause the gripper fingers 109 to lie whollybelow the surface of the platen as the lingers approach the first glue-applying roll 72 so that the fingers Will not make contact or their free movement be interfered with by said'roll. Immediately however the fingers reach a point just beyond the axis of the first glue-applying roll 72, then the segment 112 will be operated to cause the gripper fingers to move to gripping position and thus grip the blank that has been fed thereto by the feed rolls 51 and 52, all as more clearly shown in Fig. 7. The blank being thus initially gripped at a point .between the two glue-applying rolls will then be drawn over both of said rolls, the projecting portions of the grippers passing in the spaces between the faces of the second glue-applying roll 73 as shown in Fig. 10, and carried upward and its direction of movement reversed soto speak, so that the forward end of the blank will be moved in the general direction of the wrapper applying instrumentalities indicated at W, with the upper or outer faceA of thel blank coated with adhesive. When that part of the platen which carries the gripper fingers approaches the'highest point in its travel as illustrated in Fig. 8, the segment 112 is again operated to lift the gripper fingers slightly. At this moment a blank-end lifting device, which is shown in the form of a plate 114 having a hook or hooks 115 at its 'upper end and which overlies the surface of a thin stationary gripper member 116 with which a gripper finger 117 co'perates. The plate lliof which there may be one for each gripper 109 is or are adjustably mount ed upon a square bar 118 mounted upon arms 119 secured to a rock shaft 120, the said shaft carrying an arm 121 having a roller 122 at one endl thereof which roller is adapted to ride over a suitable cam surface shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, arranged in the travel path of the roller to cause the' blank end lifters to move outward and then inward at proper times to function as described, it being understood that the blank will be gripped between the gripper fingers 109 and the lifters 114, during the lifting movement of the latter and will remain gripped therebetween until the grippers of the blank transporting carriage take hold, as will presently appear.

A yielding strip or strand 109a is secured at one end to the hub of each gripper finger, its free end projecting freely through an opening in the end of the finger as shown in Fig. 10. The purpose of the strip or strand is to serve as a stop for the forward edge of the blank as it is fed onward by the feed rolls 51 and 52 toward the grippers, thus insuring a perfect register of the blanks with the edge of the platen, as more clearly shown in; Fig. 10.

The two members 116 and 117 of the blank transporting grippers are carried by arms 123 attached to and projecting forward from a reciprocating carriage 124 having rollers 125 which travel upon tracks 126. The stationary member 116 of each of the blank transportingr grippers is secured to the free end of an arm 123 while the pivoted members 117 are pivoted to said arms. Gripping action may be imparted to the pivoted gripper fingers 117 by any suitable means, such as of rods 127 connected by links 128 to the arms 123. The arms 123 are adjustable laterally toward and from each other upon the carriage 124 by means of bolts and nuts 129, the top plate of the carriage 124 being slotted longitudinally to permit adjustment of the arms as described in order that the grippers 116, 117 may be positioned relative to each other to accommodate blanks of different sizes.

The blank transporting carriage may be reciprocated by any preferred form of mechanism. In the present instance we have shown the carriage as provided with a rack bar 130 with which a reversely operated gear'- 131 meshes, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1. The reverse gear is driven by intermeshing bevel gears 132 one of which is mounted upon a vertical shaft 133, said shaft having at its lower @nd a gear 134 meshing with a larger gear 135, such larger gear carrying a pinlon 136 meshing with an oscillating rack segment 137 lwhich latter has an arm 138 secured thereto carrying a roller 139 which runs in a cam groove 140 of the drum 71. It will be apparent that rotation of the drum 71 will impart oscillating movements to tlie segment 137 which, through the driving connections described, will cause the gear 131 to impart reciprocating movements to the rack 130 and therefore to the carriage forming a part of the blank transporting mechanism described.

The pivoted gripper lingers 117 may be lifted away from the fixed finger, 116 when -V these lingers arrive in blank receiving posi- 4blanlrreaches the depositin tion adjacent the blank supporting platen, by `any suitable means. In the instance shown we have provided the arm 128 to which the rod 127 is pivoted with a depending portion 141, the curved lower end of which is adapted to ride yupon a ixed inclined face 142 properly positioned so that the fingers will open when they reach the blank receiving position, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, and will close immediatel the carriage starts to move forward and wi l thus grip the blank while it is still on the platen and transport it forward as hereinbe-l fore described. When the carriage with its position the grippers 116, 117 will again e separated .to

release the blank, this separation being effected by the part 141 again comin into contact with an adjustably mounte cam 142a as shown in dotted lines.

We have provided means for imparting an initial advancing movement to the wrapper-blank transporting carriage and its grippers, directly from the blank-supporting platen during rotation thereof, in order to provide for accuracy and uniformity in the gripping action of the grippers upon the blanks as they are delivered by the platen to thereby insure a more perfect register of the blanks at the point of delivery. Claims as to this feature of the invention are included in our co-pending application, Serial No. 174,921, hereinbefore referred to.

One manner of accomplishing this is more clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, where it will be seen that the gripper member 116 of the wrapper transporting carriage is provided with a downwardly extending pin or projection 116l which is arranged to be engaged by an edge of the cutaway portion of the blank-supporting platen when the latter reaches the position shown in Fig. 8. In reaching this position the grippers 116 and 117 of the blank-supporting carriage are supposed to be in the position shown in said figure wherein the grippers are just grasping the forward edge of the blank which is still on the platen.

The platen continuing to move engages the pin or projection 116 and imparts an initial forward movement thereto operating to initially advance the carriage. Such initial movement is possible because there is necessarily more or less lost motion in the gearing and other connections heretofore de- .scribed for imparting the back and forth movements to the carriage. By giving the initial advance movement to the carriage through the medium of the blank-supporting platen itself, the adhesively coated wrapperblanks are always gripped at vthe samepoint because the projection 116a insures this.

It will be seen by referring to Fig. 3 that the table for supporting the pack of blanks is located at a point between the glue-applying mechanism and the conventionally illustrated wrapper applying instrumentalities and that the arrangement is such that as the blanks are fed successively from the table to the glue applying mechanism, they will be directed reversely by the blank support-4 ing platen which rotates in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, so that after having a surface coating of glue applied thereto the blanks will be carried in the general direction of the wrapper applying instrumentalities with the adhesively coatedv facearranged uppermost. This arrangement of the various parts we consider tobefan important feature of the invention since it does not re- The individual blanks of the pack are selected by the automatic feeding means and fed forward successively .between the feed rolls 51 and 52 which in-turn feed the blanks l between the bight of the first one of the pair of glue-applying rollers and the periphery of the blank-supporting platen. Immediately one of the gripper fingers 109 reaches a point just beyond the glue-applying faces of the first glue-applying roller, said finger swings outward and over into gripping engagement with the forward edge of the blank and during the continued rotation of the platen the blank is drawn over both of the glue-applying rollers, the gripper fingers being so arranged as to pass through the spacesseparating the faces of the second glue-applying roller. Continued onward movement of the platen carries the blank in the general direction of the box or package covering instrumentalities, the blank receiving a surface coating of adhesive as it is drawn over the two glue-applying rollers 72 and 73.

When the gripper fingers of the platen Areach the highest point in their movement,

or just prior to reaching such point they move upward and at about the same time the 'blank end lifting device or devices also move upward to lift the forward end of the blank away from the platen as shown in Fig. 8. In the meantime the fixed member 116 of the blank transporting grippers will have been moved to a position under the lifted end of the blank whereupon the pivoted linger 117 will be caused to grip the blank, and the gripper finger 109 at the same time releasing its hold on the blank. The blank transporting device then carries the adhesively coated blank over to and deposits it at the wrapper applying instrumentalites. The gripper fingers of the blank transporting device release the blank at the proper moment and the carriage is then moved back to receive afresh blank, which, during theoperations last described, has had a coating of glue applied thereto and brought to position to be gripped by t-he transporting device. These operations are carried on successively and automatically.

While we have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to this particular form of construction, as variation and modification may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

l. A blank feeding and gumming mechanism of the class described comprising a pair of glue-applying rollers each having a plurality of spaced glue-applying faces, said rollers being so arranged relative to each other that the glue-applying faces of one roller lie opposite the spaces between the faces of the other'roller, a blank supporting platen eoperating with the glueapplying faces of both said rollers for pressing the blank thereagainst, and a gripper carried by and movable with the platen operating to grasp a blank adjacent one of the glue-applying rollers and draw it over the said rollers, whereby glue is applied over substantially the entire face of the blank by the successive action of both rollers during the movement of the blank thereover.

2. In a machine for gumming sheets, a pair of glue applying rollers each having spaced glue applying faces arranged to successively apply glueto one face of sheets fed thereover, a rotary sheet supporting platen coperatively associated with said glue applying rollers, means for feeding sheets singly between a peripheral portion of the platen and the first one of said pair of glue applying rollers, grippers mounted upon and movable with the platen, means for actuating said grippers to cause them to grip each sheet after the advance end thereof has passed over the first one of said glue applying rollers and for drawing the sheets over the other glue applying roller, and a reciprocating carriage having grippers movable toward and fromthe platen for transferring the glued sheets to a point of delivery.

3. In a machine for gumming sheets, a plurality of pairs of pivoted cross arms,

each pair having a scissors-like movementand veach arm having a bearing at one end to provide supports for the journals of glue applying rollers, arpair of spaced glue applying rollers having journals movably support-ed in the bearings of said cross arms and arranged to apply glue to one face of sheets fed thereover, means for feeding the sheets singly to and over the glue applying rollers, a rotary sheet'supporting platen coperatively associated with the glue applying rollers and grippers carried by and movable withthe platen for engaging the sheets and for drawing them over the glue applying rollers.

4. In a machine forgumming sheets, a plurality of pairs of pivoted cross arms each pair having a scissors-like movement, said portin sheets and for drawing them over the glue applying rollers, and means connected with the said pivoted cross arms for automatlcally operating said arms to movethe rollers toward and from the periphery of the platen at predetermined times.

5. In a machine for gumming. sheets, spaced frame members each having vertically extending guides, a rotary sheet-supporting platen Journaled for rotation insaid frame members, an auxiliary frame located between the said spaced frame members and having guides complemental to the first .namedl guides, glue applying mechanism carried by the auxiliary frame and including glue applying rollers arranged to contact with the periphery of the said platen, bearings in which said rollers are removably mounted, vand means for raising the auxiliary frame bodily to bring1 the rollers in coperative association wit the periphery of the platen and for lowering thefranie away from the platen to permit ready removal of the glue applying rollers. 6. In a machine for gummin sheets, a frame, a rotary sheet supportlng platen mounted for rotation thereupon, glue applying mechanism including removably supported glue applying rollers coperatively associated with the periphery of the platen, and an auxiliary frame movable bodily vertically upon the first named frame in directions toward and from the periphery of the platen and upon which the gumming mechanism is mounted and means for movin the said auxiliary frame away from the p aten to permit removal of the, glue applying rollers. l 7. In a machine for gumming sheets, a main frame, a longitudinally adjustable carrier frame, a' wrapper supporting platen journaled for rotation in said frame, an auxiliary frame mounted for vertical adjustment upon the carrier frame, Wrapper feeding means and gumming means mounted upon the auxiliary frame, means for bodily adjusting the auxiliary frame vertically toward and from the platen, and a reciprocating wrapper transporting device coperatively associated with the'platen for taking thel wrappers therefrom successively and transporting them to a point of delivery.

8. Blank feeding, gumming andV transporting mechanism for operating upon individual blanks, comprising a pair of glueapplying rollers, each having spaced glueapplying faces, said .rollers being so a1'- ranged relative to each other that the glueapplying faces of one roller lie opposite the spaces between the faces of the other roller, a traveling blank supporting platen cooperating With the glue-applying rollers for pressing the blank thereagamst, means for selecting and feeding the blanks singly between t e glue-applyingrollers and platen, grippers mounted upon and movable with the platen operating to grasp an edge of a blank after it has passed over one of the glue-applying rollers and draw it over the other glue-applying roller, and a reciprocating gripper for transporting the adhesively coated blanks from th'e .platen to a point of delivery.

9.I In a machine 'for feeding, gumming and transporting individual blanks, spaced glue-applying rollers each having spaced glue-applying faces arranged to apply glue to one face of a blank drawn thereover, means for supporting a pack of blanks and' for feeding them singly to and over said glue-applying rollers, a' rotary blank-supporting platen having its lower peripheral'portion 'coperatively associated with both the said glue-appl ingrollers, grippers mounted upon sai platen for gripping an edge of ,each blank after it has passed over one of the glue-applying rollers and for `drawing the blank over the other glue-applying roller, and a reciprocating carriage having grippers for taking the blanks 'from the platen and delivering them successively at a predetermined point, said pack supporting and feeding means being located beneath the path of movement 'of the reciprocating carriage.

10.111 a machine of the class described and in combination, a machine frame, a blank supporting platen rotatably mounted thereon, glue-applying rollers coperatively associated with said platen for applying glue to a blank supported thereon, pivoted cross-arms having a scissors-like movement, in which said rollers are journaled, a glue tank, rolls for applying glue from the tank to the 'glue-applying rollers, means for selecting and feeding sheets singly -between said glue-applying rollers and platen, and automatic means operable upon the failure of a sheet to be delivered between the platen and glue-applying rollers for swinging said cross-arms to move the rollers out of contact with the surface of the platen. 11. Blank feeding, gumming .and transporting mechanism including a rotary blank-supporting platen, a pair of spaced glue-applying rol ers coperatively associated therewith, each roller having spaced glue-applying faces adapted to contact with a blank supported upon theperiphery of the platen, means for feeding blanks between-the said rollers and platen pivoted cross-arms in which the Vglue-applying r0llers are mounted, said arms having a scssors-like movement, and a blank transport- A ing device coperativelyassociated with the platen for taking the adhesively. coated blanks therefrom and transporting them to a point of delivery. Y

12. Blank feeding, gumming and transporting mechanism including a rotatable blank-supporting segment having ippers thereon, a pair of glue-applying ro lers cooperatively associated with the said seg'- ment, each roller having spaced glue-applying faces, means for feeding blanks between one of said rollers and t-he segment, means for causing the grippers to grip an edge of each blank after it has passed over the firstone of said pair of glue-applying rollers and for drawing the blank .over the second l glue-applying roller, swinging arms having scissors-like movements in which the glueapplying rollers are mounted, and mechanical means for Swingin the arms to move the rollers into and out lo Contact with the face of the segment.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER, WILLIAM A. WEIGHTMAN.

ERNEST G. RIDER. 

